* Astronomy

Blobrana · L

RE: CryoSat-2 mission

Blobrana · L

CryoSat launch delayed

The launch of ESA's CryoSat-2 satellite from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, scheduled for 25 February, has been delayed due to a concern related to the second stage steering engine of the Dnepr launcher.
Although the fuel supply of the second stage engine should be sufficient to get CryoSat into orbit, the fuel reserve is not as large as they would like it to be, according to the Ukrainian company Yuzhnoye, who developed and is responsible for the launcher. The situation is being reviewed, and measures will be taken to resolve this concern.
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The launch of the RS-20 rocket carrying the European satellite CryoSat-2 from the Baikonur Cosmodrome scheduled for late February has been postponed by at least a week due to technical problems
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Blobrana · L

The European Space Agency is about to launch the most sophisticated satellite ever to investigate the Earths ice fields and map ice thickness over water and land: lift-off scheduled for 25 February.
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Blobrana · L

For the first time a satellite is to measure with the precision of a few centimetres the thickness, extent and changes of the polar ice caps. That the glaciers, continental and sea ice is now melting at an alarming rate is undisputed but until now no precise data has been available.
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Blobrana · L

As preparations for the launch of ESA's ice mission on 25 February continue on schedule, an important milestone has just been reached with the team at the Baikonur Cosmodrome saying farewell to CryoSat-2 as it was encapsulated in the rocket's 'space head module'.
This milestone is the culmination of over three weeks of work testing the satellite at the launch site in Kazakhstan. Now, sealing CryoSat-2 from view, the protective fairing will not be released until just over 16 minutes after launch, when the satellite is injected into orbit.
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Blobrana · L

An ISC Kosmotras Dnepr rocket with the CryoSat 2 satellite is scheduled to launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan, at 13:57 GMT, 25th February, 2010.

Blobrana · L

ESA's ice mission arrives safely at launch site

In what might seem rather appropriate weather conditions, the CryoSat-2 Earth Explorer satellite has completed its journey to the Baikonur launch site in Kazakhstan, where it will be prepared for launch on 25 February.
The satellite and support equipment left the 'IABG' test centre in Ottobrunn, Germany, by lorry on 12 January. The CryoSat mission is dedicated to precise monitoring of the changes in the thickness of marine ice floating in the polar oceans and variations in the thickness of the vast ice sheets that overlay Greenland and Antarctica. With much of Europe still in the grip of one of the coldest winters for some years, the icy conditions aptly set the stage for this first leg of CryoSat-2's journey.
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Blobrana · L

'Ice explorer' ready for launch
The European space agency's mission to assess the state of the world's ice cover is likely to launch in February.
The Cryosat spacecraft will go into orbit on a Dnepr rocket from Baikonur, Kazakhstan, the agency has announced.
The satellite is a rebuild of the mission that was destroyed in 2005 when its launcher failed just minutes into its flight.

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Blobrana · L

February launch for ESA's CryoSat ice mission
As members of the media visit IABG's spacecraft test centre in Germany to learn more about ESA's CryoSat mission and view the satellite, a new target launch date of 28 February 2010 has been announced.
The slip, from the planned launch date of December this year, is due to the limited availability of facilities at the Baikonur launch site in Kazakhstan, which is particularly busy at the moment.

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Blobrana · L

CryoSat ready for launch